How to Watch Thursday Night Football in 2023

Thursday Night Football

By Jim Kimble / Published September 5, 2023

NFL fans can watch Thursday Night Football on Smart TVs or a streaming device through Amazon Prime Video. 

You can sign up for a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime ($14.99 per month) or Prime Video ($8.99 per month) to watch Thursday Night Football. 

But take note: the Week 1, NFL Kickoff Game between the Detroit Lions vs Kansas City Chiefs is on NBC and Peacock.

You can jump down to a summary of how to watch Thursday Night Football on your TV, look over the Thursday Night Football schedule or read through all your options for streaming. 

Prime Video will show 16 regular season games in 2023. Thursday Night Football (TNF) is entering its second season streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. Amazon secured the rights to TNF through 2033. 

These NFL games are streamed live through the Amazon Prime app. Don’t have an Amazon Prime account? Sign up for a 30-day free trial to start watching live sports and a huge library of movies and TV shows.

How to watch Thursday Night Football

Cord-cutters have a wide variety of options to watch Thursday Night Football and other NFL games live on Smart TV, streaming device, game console, tablet or smartphone. 

Smart TVs that are 2016 or newer from Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, LG, Vizio, Hisense, Phillips, Sharp, JVC, TCL, Insignia and Haier all support streaming the Amazon Prime Video app. 

If your Smart TV doesn’t support the Amazon Prime Video app, popular streaming devices, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV all support watching Thursday night games.

Game consoles including XBox and PlayStation support watching TV. You can likewise stream Amazon Prime Video on an iPhone or iPad (with current iOS), or any Android mobile device.

If you are a sports fan in search of your ideal streaming service that has all NFL games throughout the 2023 season, chances are you want a live TV streaming service too.

ESPN, NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX carry NFL games throughout the week. NFL RedZone is important for fantasy football fans who want to track their stats every Sunday. 

Thursday Night Football Schedule

TNF Tonight pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m. All Thursday Night Football games during the 2023 regular season begin at 8:15 p.m. ET.

  • Week 2 – Sept. 14: Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles
  • Week 3 – Sept. 21: New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers
  • Week 4 – Sept. 28: Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
  • Week 5 – Oct. 5: Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders
  • Week 6 – Oct. 12: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs
  • Week 7 – Oct. 19: Jacksonville Jaguars at New Orleans Saints
  • Week 8 – Oct. 26: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Buffalo Bills
  • Week 9 – Nov. 2: Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Week 10 – Nov. 9: Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears
  • Week 11 – Nov. 16: Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
  • Week 12 (Black Friday) – Friday, Nov. 24: Miami Dolphins at New York Jets
  • Week 13 – Nov. 30: Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys
  • Week 14 – Dec. 7: New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Week 15 – Dec. 14: Los Angeles Chargers at Las Vegas Raiders
  • Week 16 – Dec. 21: New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Rams
  • Week 17 – Dec. 28: New York Jets at Cleveland Browns

Who hosts Thursday Night Football?

Charissa Thompson hosts all pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage. 

She is joined by a roster of football greats including Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, and former NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Andrew Whitworth. 

Announcer Al Michaels is giving the play-by-play. Kirk Herbstreit is doing analysis during the games. Sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung returns to the game crew for 2023. 

Features reporter Taylor Rooks and news analyst Michael Smith are also part of the reporting team. Thursday Night Football games for the 2023 regular season will be exclusive to Amazon Prime and Prime Video subscribers. 

How to Watch Thursday Night Football FAQs

These are questions NFL fans ask when searching for ways to watch TNF games.

Can you watch Thursday Night Football on NFL Plus?

Yes. NFL Plus lets you watch Thursday Night Football games on a smartphone or tablet. You won’t be able to watch TNF games on a TV with NFL Plus.

NFL Plus also gives you access to live in-market games. A basic subscription costs $6.99 per month after a 7-day free trial. Subscribers also get to live stream NFL Network, and listen to live audio of games outside of their homes.

NFL Plus Premium adds access to NFL RedZone on a smartphone or tablet for $14.99 per month.

Is Thursday Night Football on NFL Network?

Thursday Night Football is not on NFL Network, but you can watch TNF games on Amazon Prime Video. You can sign up for a 30-day free trial. 

Can I watch a local team play Thursday Night Football?

Yes. There has been much said about the exclusivity that Amazon has with Thursday Night Football. But it’s not always that exclusive.

If your local team is playing during a Thursday Night Football game, you can still use a local broadcast channel to watch the team.

So for example, if the New York Jets were playing TNF, then fans in New York could watch the game on CBS, FOX or NBC. It all depends on which broadcast channel carries the local NFL game.

How to watch Thursday Night Football for free in 2023

If your local NFL team is playing on Thursday, then you can rely on your local broadcast station to watch the game. Local broadcast channels include ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX.

But to truly watch for free, cord-cutters using a TV antenna can get their local CBS, FOX and NBC stations for free.

New to TV antennas? Read these guides to get started.

If you’re trying to watch a Thursday Night Football game for free, and the teams aren’t local, you can watch an alternative feed of the games on Twitch.

How to record Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime

Last season, Amazon Prime added a Cloud DVR option to record any Thursday Night Football game. So if you can’t watch a TNF game live, or want to watch a replay, it’s now available on-demand.

The recording option now appears to be automatically enabled. When I checked out this feature within my own Prime Video app, I noticed that recording was already enabled. On the screen there was a message saying, “Recording Enabled. Included with Prime”.

Thursday Night Football
Amazon now records TNF games so you can watch a replay. (Photo credit: Jim Kimble / The Cord Cutting Report)

This feature is included with any Amazon Prime account and does not cost extra.

Can I watch Thursday Night Football without Amazon Prime?

If the cost of an Amazon Prime membership ($14.99 per month) is too much, then there is a slightly cheaper option.

You can sign up for a subscription to just Prime Video for $8.99 per month and get access to Thursday Night Football games. You can sign up for a 30-day free trial.

Can you watch Thursday Night Football on Hulu?

Not anymore. In prior seasons, you could watch Thursday Night Football on Hulu when it aired on NFL Network. Now Amazon has exclusive rights to stream TNF until 2033.

Can you watch any NFL game on Amazon Prime?

No. Amazon only has rights to stream Thursday Night Football. You still need access to ESPN, ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC to watch other regular season games.

Are NFL games free on Amazon Prime?

NFL games are free on Amazon Prime if you are a member. You need a subscription to Amazon Prime ($14.99 per month) or Prime Video ($8.99 per month) to watch Thursday Night Football. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial if you don’t have either service.

What channel does Thursday Night Football come on regular TV?

While Amazon has exclusive rights to TNF, you can still watch your local team on broadcast channels, including NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX. It all depends on which broadcaster carries local NFL games.

How do I watch Thursday Night Football?

You can start watching Thursday Night Football on a Smart TV or streaming device in a few easy steps. 

  1. Sign up online for a 30-day free trial of Amazon Prime ($14.99 per month) or Prime Video ($8.99 per month).
  2. Add the Prime Video app to your Smart TV or streaming device, and sign in
  3. Select your profile and navigate to the home page
  4. Scroll down and look for “Thursday Night Football” or “Your live and upcoming events”
  5. Select and play the TNF game you want to watch.

For more news on streaming, how-to guides and reviews, head over to the main page of The Cord Cutting Report or follow the CCR on Google News.

Note: This article was published Sept. 7, 2022, and has been updated.

Photo of author

Jim Kimble

Jim Kimble is a seasoned industry expert with over two decades of journalism experience. He has been at the forefront of the cord-cutting movement since 2016, testing and writing about TV-related products and services. He founded The Cord Cutting Report in 2016, and serves as the editor.

Major publications, including MarketWatch, Forbes, and South Florida Sun Sentinel, have interviewed Kimble for his years of expertise. He gives advice on the complexities consumers are navigating with streaming options, and over-the-air TV. Kimble has been a staff writer or correspondent for several award-winning, daily newspapers, including The Boston Globe.